A much-anticipated and rare seven-planet alignment is set to grace the night skies on Friday night.
While planet alignments themselves aren’t special, it is rare to have an opportunity to observe multiple planets simultaneously without the need for a telescope.
Through much of February, four planets have remained widely visible in the night sky:
- Venus
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Saturn
Uranus and Neptune are also still around, but according to NASA, they won’t appear as brightly and will require a telescope to see.
Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are frequently seen in the night sky. But because Venus and Mercury orbit closer to the sun than Earth, with smaller, faster orbits, it’s more rare for them to make an appearance, according to NASA.
NASA did say that while all seven planets could appear in some form in parts of the U.S., not all of them will visible to the naked eye.
